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Jul 30, 2016

In a baffling series of court motions filed Thursday, one of the men who led a 41-day occupation earlier this year of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon declared himself a sovereign citizen free from the bounds of federal laws.

“I, ryan c, man, am an idiot of the ‘Legal Society’; and; am an idiot (layman, outsider) of the ‘Bar Association’; and; i am incompetent; and; am not required by any law to be competent,” Bundy wrote.

Along with his brother Ammon and some two dozen others, Bundy faces felony conspiracy charges for illegally occupying the wildlife refuge in remote eastern Oregon to protest federal land ownership.

Ryan Bundy is representing himself in the case.

In another filing, he declared himself a sovereign citizen of the “bundy society” who was a creation of God, not a “person” as defined by “the unholy bible of the Legal Society.”

His brother, Ammon Bundy, signed the declaration of sovereign citizenship as a witness.

Ryan Bundy’s behavior has become increasingly erratic since he was jailed this spring. Earlier in July, he prepared for an escape attempt by braiding his bed sheets into a 12-15 foot rope and stockpiling food and other goods.

After authorities prevented the escape, he told Judge Robert Jones that he was “a rancher, trying to practice braiding rope,” according to OPB.